42 MacDirectory
DEPARTMENT
cing with tools to provide desktop
sharing, video and voice conferencing.
Acrobat 9 Pro and Acrobat 9 Standard
were scheduled to be available for Mac
OS X in July. Acrobat 9 Pro Extended, a
version that includes Presenter, a tool for
packaging PowerPoint presentations into
multimedia PDF files will only be
available in the Windows version for
$699. Acrobat Pro will be priced at $449
and the Acrobat Standard at $229.
Upgrade pricing will be available for
owners of qualifying earlier versions.
Adobe Betas Preview
Creative Suite 4
SAN JOSE, Calif. — With the release of
Dreamweaver, Fireworks and
Soundtrack CS4 betas, Adobe Systems,
Inc. gave the public a sneak peek at the
next generation of its popular design
applications and started existing CS3
customers on the road to the big update.
The downloads, available from
, were to function for
48 hours – however, a CS3 activation key
will keep them alive until the new suite
is released.
"Dreamweaver, Fireworks and
Soundbooth are the major applications
we're unveiling as public betas before
the next release of Creative Suite," said
David Burkett, vice president of product
management for Adobe Creative Suite.
"This early release software gives our
loyal customers a taste of the radical
workflow enhancements that we have in
store, as we redefine how designers and
developers collaborate to deliver stand-
out digital experiences."
The Dreamweaver CS4 beta reveals
several new interface features including a
Related Files Toolbar that provides access
to all files (JavaScript, CSS, etc.) files that
are linked to the page and a Code
Navigator that simplifies the editing of
complex pages. A new Live View Mode,
based on the open source Webkit engine
allows developers to test and debug
active page content without leaving the
Dreamweaver environment.
The Fireworks interface now bears more
resemblance to other Creative Suite
products and now offers full support for
the recently introduced Adobe AIR
technology as well as integration with
Flash and FLEX builder. Soundbooth CS4
offers multi-track audio editing as well as
a speech-recognition feature permitting
the creation of audio transcripts directly
from recordings.
All three programs support Mac OS X
10.4.11 and later. Soundbooth requires
an Intel processor. Adobe hasn't
announced a release date for Creative
Suite 4, but watch
MacDirectory for
further coverage in our next issue.
Quark Announces
QuarkXPress 8
DUSSELDORF, Germany – Quark chose
the DRUPA international design
conference here to unveil the latest
version of its flagship QuarkXPress 8.
The new release promises an updated,
more intuitive interface and a host of
new features to simplify and speed up
production tasks. Rather than adding
more tools, the program has improved
the flexibility of existing tools in an effort
to streamline the design process. The
program has also added the ability to
drag and drop files from the desktop
onto a layout.
"QuarkXPress 8 demonstrates our
understanding of the way designers work
today, and underscores Quark's
commitment to continually providing
innovative software that pushes the
design experience forward," said Tim
Banister, general manager of Desktop
Technology for Quark. "We have
combined highly intuitive software with
the design control elements that are
critical in the creative process, and as a
result believe QuarkXPress 8 will not only
be a seamless upgrade for existing
QuarkXPress users, but the most
accessible professional page-layout
software for new users to learn as well."
The program continues its tradition of
industry-leading typographic tools with
paragraph-by-paragraph control over
hanging characters and an even higher
level of control over baseline grid
settings than its predecessor. The new
version offers improved graphic
capabilities, as well. The Bezier pen tool
has been enhanced for improved
drawing control and images can now be
rotated and scaled directly in a layout.
The new version also offers native
support for Adobe Illustrator files.
QuarkXPress 8 was expected to ship by
August 1. Buyers of QuarkXPress 7 from
May 1 on were expected to be eligible
for a free upgrade to 8. Details are
available at .
Extensis Serves Up New
Font Management
System
PORTLAND, Ore. – Previewed at
Macworld in January, Extensis announced
that it is now shipping its Universal Type
Server, the company's second-generation
workgroup solution that goes well
beyond the role of a simple font
repository. Leveraging Java-based
architecture, the product will offer
flexible integration in mixed Mac/
Windows, client/server environments.
Brian Berson, general manager at Extensis
told
MacDirectory the program was
inspired by users' requests, "They asked
for centrally managed fonts in a con-
trolled, but easy to implement environ-
ment." As a result, Universal Type Server
not only provides for the distribution of
fonts, but manages the complex meta-
data (licenses, classifications, foundries
and keywords) that play a crucial role in
active production environments. The
design's manage-centrally/use-anywhere
philosophy intends to simplify access for
an increasingly mobile creative staff
while providing granular permissions
control and Active Directory integration
for system administrators.
APPLE NEWS
